Telangana Govt to construct 300 new bridges across State

About 133 bridges were damaged due to floods in the last two years and there are 167 places where rivers flow

Hyderabad: The Roads and Buildings department will construct about 300 new bridges on State roads to improve connectivity.

As several roads and culverts were severely damaged in the State due to heavy rains and floods in the last two years, officials recently submitted a report to the government seeking funds for repair of roads, causeways, culverts and bridges. R&B officials have identified 300 places on various roads across the State for construction of new bridges.

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About 133 bridges were damaged due to floods in the last two years and there are 167 places where rivers flow, but there are no bridges. According to R&B officials, the department after undertaking an extensive survey of the State roads had urged the government to immediately take up construction of at least 150 new bridges on a war footing, or else the roads would suffer severe damages during the next monsoon. All the new bridges would be built high off the ground with a length of 10 metres to 50 metres to allow water to pass underneath safely, so that during heavy rains and floods, it does not submerge or overflow, officials said.

The State government had already issued orders releasing Rs 2,500 crore for repair of roads and construction of bridges and culverts damaged due to rains in the State. The government has asked the R&B department to finalise tenders for repair of roads and construction of culverts at the earliest. Of the sanctioned amount, Rs 1,865 crore has been allocated for road repairs and Rs 635 crore for construction of bridges and culverts.

Officials found culverts damaged at many places on roads in Karimnagar, Adilabad, Warangal, Khammam, Medak, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Adilabad, Nizamabad and Rangareddy (Rural) circles.

According to officials, of the total 27,737.21 km-network of R&B roads, 1,675 km was damaged at 664 places due to rain. A total of 1,087 culverts and roads under the National Highways Authority of India were also damaged due to rain.